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April is a lovely time to visit Ashland! Right in town, I suggest spending some time in Lithia Park, which offers acres of cultivated gardens, duck ponds and wooded walking trails. For wildflowers, you’ll find them at higher elevations. The best place, in my opinion, to view alpine wild flower blooms is Mt. Ashland, in the high alpine meadows below the peak. They are accessible via the Pacific Crest Trail or the forest service road that continues past the Mt. Ashland ski area parking lot. Usually, April is a good time to visit this high elevation, but this year, we’ve had a lot of snow, so it may still be covered until May. Still, keep it on your radar.

Slightly lower down in elevation, Grizzly Peak is also a good wildflower viewing area. Located on the other side of I-5 from Mt. Ashland, the trail is a five-mile loop. If you don’t already have accommodations, I highly suggest a stay at Willow-Witt Ranch. This working organic farm is located near Grizzly Peak (outside town) and offers beautiful mountain meadows and pastures of its own. I visited in late April and lots of flowers and other plants were blooming.

The nearest charter boat services to Cannon Beach would be in Garibaldi, south of Cannon Beach, or to the north, in Astoria or Ilwaco. Some charter services specifically offer burial at sea charters, including Garibaldi Charters and Pacific Salmon Charters.

It should be noted that Haystack Rock is at the edge of the shoreline and, to be legal, ashes must be scattered at least three nautical miles from land, according to The Clean Water Act. The EPA does not permit scattering remains along the shoreline. All burials or scatterings must also be reported to the EPA in writing within 30 days. You can read more and find the reporting form on the Environmental Protection Agency website.

There are so many fun things to do on Mt. Hood in the summer. It’s actually my favorite season on the mountain (probably because I am not much of a skier). Though, there are plenty of other things to do on Hood in winter if you don’t ski!

Do you like to hike? There are many beautiful hiking trails in the Mount Hood National Forest, from easy to difficult. Some of my favorites are the Old Salmon River Trail, Mirror Lake, and Umbrella Falls. The later puts on an especially beautiful wildflower show towards the end of July. You can even hike a section of the Pacific Coast Trail if you desire, and pass some hikers on their way to Canada from Mexico.

Trillium Lake is one of my favorite summer spots. There is a very easy trail around the lake, and one of the most stunning views of the mountain you will get. Mount Hood Adventure will even deliver rental kayaks to the lake if you want to go for a paddle.

Then there is the Mount Hood Adventure Park at Ski Bowl. The slopes are transformed into an alpine slide in summer, and there are many other activities available including a Malibu car race track, bungee jumping and a zip line.

Of course, if you still want to put your feet in snow, Timberline Lodge offers the only year round ski area in North America. If you aren’t interested in skiing, you can take the Magic Mile Sky Ride up to Palmer Glacier and play around.

At the top of my list would be Ecola State Park, just 15 minutes south of Seaside. It offers easy walking paths with beautiful coastal views of Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock and other sea stacks, the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse and the capes and headlands miles to the south. It can be a great bird-watching location, too. In September, seabirds will be gone from their rocky nesting grounds, but Brown Pelicans, cormorants, bald eagles and many varieties of woodland birds are common. Be sure to visit the Indian Beach portion of the park, too. It offers some great views of interesting rock formations.

Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach is another must. Again, you will have missed seabirds, like the small colony of Tufted Puffins that nests there, but there are always a variety of birds and many photo opportunities. Plan your trip for a low tide to explore the tidepools. The little town of Cannon Beach is also very picturesque and fun to explore. It is known as one of the Northwest’s top art towns with several galleries and upscale shops and restaurants. Cannon Beach also has a short nature trail that skirts Ecola Creek, a good spot to look for birds and river otters. The nature trail passes the city’s water treatment lagoons that are also good bird-watching locations. Keep your eye out for herds of Roosevelt Elk in these areas; they are commonly sighted this time of year.

There are some nice areas just south of Cannon Beach you will want to explore. There are nice highway side viewpoints just south of town and some State Parks you should consider. I like Arcadia Beach and Hug Point for photography. Both offer access to beaches that are worth exploring. If you avoid high tide at Hug Point, you can walk to the north around the point to a picturesque small waterfall carved out of sandstone. Further south is Oswald West State Park that offers a few options for short walks, as well as longer hikes. The walk from the main parking area to Short Sand Beach is an easy one through rainforest to the beautiful, small cove beach. Further south down the highway, a small gravel parking area offers a short walk to Devil’s Cauldron, a basin of turbulent wave action at the bottom of sheer cliffs. A little further south are several turnouts along the edge of Neahkahnie Mountain offer expansive view of the coast to the south.

For longer day trips south, I most enjoy the Three Capes Scenic Route. The most rewarding location for a short visit is Cape Meares that offers a short trail that circles the edge of the cape, emerging at a lighthouse. You can make a full day of this and also visit Cape Lookout State Park and Cape Kiwanda, then return to Seaside via the US 101.

For day trips north, my favorite stop for photography would be Fort Stevens State Park where the 1906 shipwreck Peter Iredale can still be seen on the beach. The South Jetty area of the park is known as a good bird watching location.

During your time in Seaside, you will want to visit the estuary just north of downtown. A small park offers easy trails and often good bird watching.

I can think of several scenic tours you might enjoy. The Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway is a great choice — lakes, mountains and lots of beautiful forest. Take Highway 26 east through Prineville to the Ochocos — another great backroad through forests. Old McKenzie Highway, Highway 242, is amazing, as is the Aufderheide, Scenic Highway 19. A trip to Crater Lake would be well worth the time, too. Have a great trip!

If you have a rental car, everything you’ll want to do will be easy! There are a ton of great, kid and adult friendly hikes around the area that I’m sure you’ll love.

If you’re looking for vistas and mountain views:

Tom Dick and Harry Mountain via Mirror Lake

Angels Rest

Zig Zag Mountain via Burnt Lake

McNeil Point

Bald Mountain via Top Spur Trailhead

If you’re looking for forested tree tunnels and waterfalls:

Multnomah Falls (a must-see)

Wahkeenah Falls Loop hike

Devils Rest

Salmonberry River Trail

Ramona Falls

Latourell Falls

…basically all of the waterfalls along the Columbia River Scenic Highway

If you’re looking for places to ski:

Mt. Hood Meadows

Timberline (at Mt. Hood)

Mt. Bachelor (right outside of Bend, about three hours away)

There’s also dog-sledding at Mt. Bachelor! It could make a good day/overnight trip to ski at Mt. Bachelor and then do a dog-sled tour in the backcountry.

My favorite hikes if you head towards Bend:

Tumalo Falls

Misery Ridge

Also, would you like to soak in some natural hot springs?

Near Mt. Hood – Bagby Hot Springs

Near Bend – Umpqua Hot Springs

If you need any rentals or gear for any of the adventures you’ll go on, I’d highly, highly recommend stopping into the Mountain Shop in Portland. They’re the oldest (and greatest, in my opinion) gear shop in the country.

Much has been written about finding fossils on the Central Oregon Coast north of Newport. I expect the focus on fossils on this portion of the Oregon Coast is primarily due to fossil enthusiast Guy DiTorrice who freely shares his knowledge. You may want to contact him regarding information on other areas of the Oregon Coast where fossils are likely to be found.

I expect there are many other areas of the Coast where fossils can be found that have been less publicized. According to the Oregon Coast Visitor Association website, the beaches north of Cape Blanco are a known fossil location.

Similar to hunting for agates, fossils are likely to be found on beaches adjacent to rocky headlands and cliffsides. Winter is typically the best season to hunt for fossils as high tides and heavy surf dislodge materials from the edge of the shoreline. It should be noted that by Oregon law, it is illegal to dig or remove fossils from rocks or cliffsides, but a small quantity (one gallon) of “souvenirs” can be removed if found loose on the ground.

I am answering your question while staring at two feet of snow and 10 degrees out…..so there’s no golf being played right now in Bend, the home of some 23 golf courses.

As far as playing golf in the winter, it all depends on what area of the state that is more tolerate to weather and what courses stay open year round. Several Central Oregon courses are open year round, such as Brasada Ranch and Juniper Golf Course. There are also courses open all year round in Southern Oregon and along the Coast. So, yes, you can golf in Oregon during winter — but you might have to drive farther!

I can answer this one pretty well, as one of my relatives uses a power chair and we’ve gone many places together over the years. Are you looking for camping sites? Or parks and natural areas? Here are a few ideas:

Sunnyside Park and RiverBend Park are two very pretty campgrounds on mostly flat ground with lots of paved walkways. Sunnyside is right on the shores of Green Peter Reservoir, and RiverBend is on the banks of the South Santiam River. Both are very easy to get around in when using a chair.

Champoeg State Park outside of Newberg is another good option — a variety of camping options (tent, RV, cabin, yurt) in a mostly flat and level area with paved walking trails. Some of them are formally designated ADA-accessible, but all of them would be relatively easy to get around in a chair. It’s in a pretty part of the Willamette Valley, nearby to lots of great wineries, and has some interesting historic sites within the park.

The Oregon Garden is another great place to visit for folks using chairs — it’s an 80-acre botanical garden (bigger than Buchart Gardens in Canada!) — and the entire place is ADA compliant. There’s also an adjacent Oregon Garden Resort which has ADA compliant rooms you can book for the night.